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How to fold an origami stegosaurus

Fold a square in half, reverse-fold both ends back and cut out the legs. Drop the small head, raise the long tail, then snip a strip into a zigzag of plates and add tail spikes.

You need: A 15 cm teal square, a 9 x 6 cm orange strip, a 2.6 x 2.2 cm cream strip; scissors, a ruler and glue. Hard, 24 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold at the top is the stegosaurus's back.
  2. Crease the legs. Fold the left end over on an upright crease 6.2 cm from the left edge, and the right end behind on one 5.5 cm from the right edge.
  3. Open them. Unfold both ends again. The two creases mark the inside edges of the legs.
  4. Ends back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body 3.5 cm from the right edge, and the left end 4 cm from the left edge.
  5. Cut the strips. Cut up both end folds, leaving 1.8 cm at the right and 1.6 cm at the left. Trim the right flap to 1.3 cm deep at its tip, the left one to a point.
  6. Cut the legs. Cut up the left leg crease to 4.6 cm below the top fold and the right one to 4.9 cm. Cut the belly between them in a shallow curve.
  7. Slim the legs. Slant the rump and chest edges in 5 mm at the foot, starting from the strips, and the inside edge of each leg 3 mm.
  8. Shape the snout. Snip the top corner off the neck strip's tip, from the top fold 1 cm in down to the tip 6 mm below the fold.
  9. Tail up. Outside-reverse-fold the tail strip out on a crease from its bottom corner, so the long tail points back and a little up.
  10. Head down. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip out on a crease from its top corner, so the small head hangs low in front.
  11. Spikes: new sheet. Set the body aside. Lay the 2.6 x 2.2 cm cream strip coloured side up, long sides at the top and bottom.
  12. Spikes: fold in half. Fold the right end over onto the left end.
  13. Spikes: snip. Cut one slant from the top left corner down to the fold, 3 mm above the bottom.
  14. Spikes: open. Unfold it. A sharp spike stands at each end.
  15. Plates: new sheet. Set the spikes aside. Lay the 9 x 6 cm orange strip white side up, long sides at the top and bottom.
  16. Plates: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The tips of the plates will be on this fold.
  17. Plates: fold it small. Fold the right end over to the left end.
  18. Plates: smaller. Fold the right end over to the left end again.
  19. Plates: smallest. And once more, so it is just over 1 cm wide. Press it flat.
  20. Plates: snip. Cut one slant through all the layers, from the top right corner down to the left edge 4 mm above the bottom, so the plates stay joined.
  21. Plates: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  22. Plates: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  23. Plates: open it out. Unfold the first fold. A row of four big plates stands along the top!
  24. Glue it together. Slip the plates over the back, points up, and glue them. Glue the spikes behind the end of the tail so they point up.

Chomp, chomp!

Draw a small eye on each side of the head. Stand it on its four legs with the tail held up.

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